Panthers' Day Of Firsts

September 29, 2001|By Sharon Robb STAFF WRITER

MIAMI — Eddie Wenger was being outfitted from head to toe in the equipment room when it finally hit the former St. Thomas offensive lineman that he was playing college football at Florida International University.

Hobbled by a knee injury that will keep him out of today's first afternoon public intrasquad scrimmage at University Park Recreation Field, Wenger, like many of his teammates, needed to see the football uniform, helmet and pads to know the five-year dream was finally a reality.

"The first day I came in and actually saw the equipment with my name on it ... it hit me that this was for real," Wenger said. "Even though the locker room wasn't done yet, I went in and saw the stuff with my number on it and thought `It's time to play again.'

"This is going to be something big," said the 6-foot, 267-pound offensive lineman. "We are starting small, taking care of all the little things first and then the big things will fall into place. We are going to be strong from the get-go. We put high expectations on ourselves. We plan to win."

For coach Don Strock, who signed his first recruiting class in February, today's inaugural public scrimmage was five years in the making. The former Dolphin quarterback was named head of FIU's football operations in 1999. FIU is the eighth state university with a football team and third approved in the past five years.

FIU doesn't play its first official Division I-AA game until Aug. 31, 2002. FIU plans to play Florida Atlantic at Pro Player Stadium and Bethune Cookman at Lockhart. The 2002 schedule has not been finalized.

Plans are to add bleachers to the 7,000-seat newly-refurbished on-campus football stadium to upgrade it to 17,800 seats and eventually 30,000. The long-range plan is to play Division I football in the Sun Belt Conference.

Seventy players are on FIU's depth chart including 18 from Broward and Palm Beach counties. Because of the rich talent pool of high school players in Florida, Strock was able to get the maximum 30 commitments allowed under NCAA rules. Several players are Bright Futures Scholars including Wenger, all-state, all-district and all-county players. Only two players are from out of state.

Scholarships will continue to be phased in over a four-year period to reach the NCAA Division I-AA maximum of 63 grants-in-aid.

"I like the idea that this is a new program and everything we do is a first," said defensive back Nick Turnbull, a former Flanagan player. "We are going to be part of history, no matter what. We want to start a winning tradition. I think when we had our first meeting it hit us that we are playing college football."

"Being the first to do everything new is really appealing," said kicker Adam Moss, a former soccer player from American Heritage.

Strock and his coaching staff are eager to see the players in game-type situation after 16 days of practice, some rain and lightning-abbreviated and mini-intrasquad scrimmage. Today will also be the first time the student body and faculty will see the team in action.

Strock plans to run an exciting, "but complicated" offense patterned after the Baltimore Ravens, where he coached for three seasons and in 1996 oversaw the second best passing attack in the NFL.

"We are going to throw the ball around a lot, win, lose or draw," said Strock, who has 50 receivers listed on his recruiting board. "I know they are tired of just practicing and running plays. They want to get out there, mix up some formations and coverages and actually play in a game-like situation. It will give us a chance to evaluate our progress."

FIU will hold three other scrimmages before Nov. 17, its last day of practice in 2001. The second game is Oct. 17 at North Miami Stadium on the Biscayne Bay Vista campus at 5 p.m. and Oct. 27 at FIU Community Stadium at 3:30 p.m. The Blue and Gold game is Nov. 10.